1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to mechanical interconnecting elements for various plumbing-like arrangements, in general, and is directed to an improvement for "down-hole" equipment used in petroleum recovery techniques, in particular.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the oil field industry, in particular, it is frequently necessary to make interconnections of a plurality of tube-like members called "strings" with other equipment which is already placed down-hole. Inasmuch as many down-hole operations are conducted at extensive distances below the surface, the strings become extremely long and must be interconnected from a remote distance. As a result, it is essential to facilitate the interconnection arrangement. One such method is the so-called conical receptacle wherein a down-hole receptacle has a conical upper surface with openings therein, which opening may have different diameters. In this manner, the strings may be "stabbed" into the receptacle by the expedient of attempting a "stab-in" of the largest diameter tubing first. In this method, the larger tubing or string will not enter the smaller hole in the receptacle and will preferably seat itself in the appropriate hole. However, sometimes it is desirable (or necessary) to utilize a receptacle having two or more holes which are of the same or substantially the same diameter for effecting other oil field production techniques. In these cases, as well as others, it is frequently difficult to stab-in the appropriate tubing into the appropriate hole in the receptacle. If the wrong tube is inserted into a hole in the receptacle, the tubing must be removed and reseated in the proper hole. This operation may be time consuming and, thus, expensive due to down time of the production rig or the like. To date, there is no known solution to the problem other than the utilization of the conical receptacle device and the "trial and error" stabbing technique.